Thanksgiving Swaps: Flourless Stuffin' Muffins

Welcome to the first of three Shenanigiving Posts!

Ingredients (per 6 muffins):
-1/2 C pumpkin puree
-1.25 C almond meal
-1/2 C almonds
-2 jumbo eggs
-2 TB butter, melted
-1.5 tsp sage
-1 TB chia seed (optional but suggested)
-1 tsp baking powder
-1 TB honey
-1 tsp minced onion flakes
-Dash of marjoram and thyme
-Salt
-Optional 1/4 C or so of chicken/turkey/preferred stock

Preheat your oven to 350F.  Now, it may seem odd to say that the stock is optional, but hear me out.  A LOT of times when I make muffins like this or when I make corn muffins I make really stiff batters.  They actually do have a little wiggle room if you want to add in some extra liquids.  I would in no way classify these as dry without the stock, but the addition of it would give it a richer depth and would loosen up the batter a little. 

Anyway, pulse the almonds a few times in a food processor until they are mostly small bits with a few large remaining.  Now that I think about it, you could remove the almonds to a bowl and then mix everything together in the food processor and not dirty up your kitchenaid...really wish I had thought of that sooner.

Regardless of what you use, mix all the rest of the stuff up and grease a small cupcake pan. Since this is a really firm dough, you can put large scoops in that basically fill up the wells.  It does not rise too terribly much and it is not soupy so you don't have to worry about it running over.  Bake for 12-18 minutes or until starting to brown on top.

So these reminded me of a hybrid between hush puppies and dressing...WHICH is amazing because I absolutely love both.  It really made me want to try to deep fry this batter, but I don't have a deep fryer so I will just have to forever wonder on that one.

You can use a fork to loosen these up and remove them to a wire rack to cool. 

I LOVED the crunchy almond pieces hiding throughout these.  I think pecans or walnuts would be delicious options as well.  I think the most important thing, at least that I have come across so far, is that if you are going to make something flourless you really need to think about the texture.  Some things I have tried just end up a little mushy or a little too eggy textured.  If you just toss some crunchy bits in it really helps.

Happy crafting, and happy holidays!